The lifting of restrictions in the UK could prevent Ireland from successfully winning the battle against Covid-19, an Irish public health expert has warned.
Dr Gabriel Scally, a former regional director of public health, said Ireland has a “fantastic opportunity” to reduce the number of new cases of Covid-19 to zero - but this is not possible if people can move freely within the common travel area between Ireland and the UK.
And he insisted there must be mandatory quarantine rules in place for high-risk people arriving anywhere on the island of Ireland.
On Sunday evening, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first steps towards easing lockdown restrictions, and published a 50-page report outlining the details on Monday.
But this announcement has renewed concerns about people arriving from the UK, where no community testing is taking place, onto the island of Ireland.
Dr Scally insisted that if Ireland is to win the battle against Covid-19, there must be travel restrictions across the whole island.
He told RTE Radio One’s Today with Sarah McInerney: “Ireland as an island needs an all-island strategy, and that includes restrictions at ports and airports on passenger movement.”
There must be a mandatory quarantine for high-risk people arriving anywhere on the island, the public health expert insisted.
Dr Scally said: “Certainly anyone coming onto the island of Ireland should be met by public health officials. And they should be absolutely told to isolate themselves, self-quarantine, for 14 days.
“If that’s not possible or if they’re too high risk, then they should be compulsory quarantined.”
He said having Ireland’s efforts to fight Covid-19 undermined by decisions in the UK is “completely unacceptable”.
Dr Scally said: “Ireland has a fantastic opportunity to get down to zero cases. Zero new cases is what we absolutely want.
“To get down to the level is going to be hard enough, but having new cases coming in through ports and airports, and particularly people returning home from elsewhere, that would undermine what I hope will be done - and that’s getting down to zero.
“There has to be a serious discussion among the governments. If it’s meant to be a common travel area it can’t be a common travel area if it’s putting the population of either island at risk.
“It would be completely unacceptable to have Ireland doing its very, very best to get down to zero and saves people’s lives, and yet have an open border with a country that is busy lifting restrictions and isn’t doing any community testing.”
